Australia shark attack: Surfer survives mauling that was like 'being hit by a truck'

The surfer said he had been enjoying a "normal day's surfing" when he was attacked by a great white shark

A surfer in Australia who was attacked by a great white shark has described the experience as like being "hit by a truck".

The 29-year-old was surfing in waters around Kangaroo Island off the Adelaide coast, when he was attacked on Sunday.

He suffered serious injuries and was said to be lucky to be alive.

After the attack at remote D'Estrees Bay, he managed to swim back to shore, before walking another 300 metres (328 yards) to get help.

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Describing his ordeal in a handwritten letter, he said he believed he would make a full recovery.

He had, he said, been sitting on his board when he felt a hit on his left side: "It was like being hit by a truck."

"It bit me around my back, buttock and elbow, and took a chunk out of my board," he said in the letter.

He "got a glimpse of the shark as it let go and disappeared", after which he paddled back to the beach still holding his board.

The surfer sustained serious lacerations to his back, backside and legs, and minor lacerations to his arm during the attack.

'Catastrophic' injuries

One paramedic who treated him said the extent of the man's injuries had been "catastrophic" and that it was "quite remarkable" he had been able to swim to shore and then walk to seek help.

He was "very lucky that he was able to do that", Michael Rushby told local newspaper The Advertiser, noting shark attacks locally remained rare.

D'Estrees Bay beach has now been closed, and members of the public have been asked to avoid the area.